In the Night
by BanditOfLove
Summary: Serah Farron lived in a world where nothing made sense. Her boyfriend broke up with her, her dad is an abusive alcoholic, and she got a D minus in Chemistry. But when a change of events change her live, she ends up meeting the one. And she has someone to keep her warm at night, with the haunting memories.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I

Her life was falling apart; first her dad had hit her mother last night resulting in her not going to work, then she has been hearing rumors that her so called "boyfriend" cheated on her, and no she got a D minus in her AP Chemistry. Serah Farron nearly banged her head against her locker, today had been exhausting and it was only second period. She looked down the hall to see her best friend Courtney at her locker with her best friend Jeremy. Their eyes locked and Courtney waved at her, which Serah quickly waved back. Courtney's facial features suddenly turned sour and she quickly turned away. _What's wrong_ Serah thought and she turned around to about run into someone. It was him. Snow. Her boyfriend.

"Hey Serah. I didn't see you this morning."

She fiddled with her necklace that Snow had gotten for her birthday, "Um, yeah I was late sorry."

 _Lies_ a voice in her head mocked. Obviously Snow didn't notice, he looked the same as ever. With his oversized football jersey and his black bandana wrapped around his head. He looked worried though, and she could tell.

"Snow? What's wrong?" She asked praying that the rumors she had been hearing were false.

"Ehhhhh, listen Serah-"

Here it comes. The knife to her chest. The bullet through her heart.

"I think we should take a break."

The rumors were true. She had been such a fool, she should have known when Snow started blowing her off. First it was just that he had too much homework or football practice. Then it was about his parents or his friends, and then it came to him just saying that he was too tired. She needed to know who it was. Who he was with. Who she was.

"Snow, I knew this was coming. All I've got to ask is who is she?" Serah asked biting her lip. Her heart was beating a million miles per hour.

"I'm so sorry Serah. It was all my idea so if you're going to be mad, it's me you should be angry with. It was-"

 _Brrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnggggggg_

"Shit! I've got to get to class; coach will kill me if I have another tardy! Sorry, see you later!" Snow called as he ran down the hallway, leaving her right in the middle of the hallway by herself. Her didn't even say who she was.

Screw school, wasn't like she needed it. Vanille and her had skipped plenty of times before, so what was different. Only this time she was alone. Walking down the sidewalk on her way into town, she hummed a little tune as she walked on the edge like a tightrope walker. She passed many buildings on her way into the small city, one being the New Bodhum Preparatory School, where her sister Lightning went. Of course Serah had the choice of going there, but instead she chose to go to school with her friends and her boyfriend. The school wasn't that much different from their school, but it had more advanced classes and more competition for certain things like sports and academics. Something Lightning always strived for, being number one. She wondered if Lightning would be home tonight. Usually if their father was home, Lightning was gone, spending the night at someone's house, away from the chaos. The last time she had seen her sister was over a week ago, but her father hadn't had a business trip in a while, so maybe he'd have one soon. Lightning wasn't afraid of their father, but he and her usually got into conflict when he would start drinking; especially when he would hit their wasn't one to keep her mouth shut, and neither was her dad. Serah could hear the school's bells signaling that class was over. Did she really want to go back that hellhole or did she want to start a new life. Her depression wasn't gonna get any worse going back, but the other school looked like a beacon of hope. She began walking up the stir of the Preparatory school, wondering with each step what her father would say and what her mother wouldn't. She finally made it to the doors and pulled open the wooden doors. It smelled familiar, like she had been here before; maybe something for Lightning. To the right was an office, which she assumed was where she needed to get the transfer papers. The office was rather large for an office and the secretary was rather small for the big room. She wrinkled her nose when she noticed Serah walking up.

"Claire Farron! What are you doing out of class again!" The lady said pointing her finger at the pink haired girl.

Serah blinked, "Um, Claire's my sister. I'm Serah Farron."

The women did a doubletake and adjusted her glasses, "Ohhhhh, my bad sweetheart. Claire was just down here a few moments ago. What can i do for you Miss Farron?"

"Oh I just needed the transfer slips to come to this school."

The woman smiled, "Well i'd be happy to give them to you Serah. If you're anything close to Claire then you should be an excellent addition to our school."

Serah nodded, even though she knew she was nothing like Lightning. Lightning was bold and courageous, Serah was fragile and quiet. They were anything but the same.

She was about to leave when she suddenly thought of a question, "Wait, Miss?"

"Yes dear?"

"Does the transfer slip require a parent's signature?"

The woman nodded, "Yes from both parents or a legal guardian."

On the outside Serah looked perfectly normal, and she waved goodbye to the lady and exited the school. On the inside however Serah felt hopeless. How would she be able to get her dad to sign it? She could lie, but if he found out she did she would be dead. She decided to go home and check on her mother; maybe just maybe her mother would say something to her dad. So Serah walked through town, past the bank and the grocery store, and past the bridge until she came to the small neighborhood filled with large mansions. Their house was a large white one with large white columns on the front. She walked up the driveway until she got to the garage, where she quickly typed in the sequence of numbers to open the garage doors. She slipped under the doors about halfway up and ran over to hit the button to shut the doors. Serah entered her house, and quietly shut the door. The noise of claws on the tile floor filled her ears, and she fell to her knees just in time to embrace her loving beagle named Mog. Serah has had her for years now, and she was her own little baby to care for. After holding the dog for a few minutes, she decided to go check on her mom, who would probably be in her room sleeping. It's what she always did after he hit her. Mog followed her over to the kitchen, where she set the paper down, and then she headed up the carpeted stairs up to their second floor. Her mother's floor was the last door on the right, it was also the master bedroom of their house. Quietly, she peaked the door open and glanced inside. There was her mother's body under many blankets, with her hair tousled and a bruise appearing on her cheek bone. Serah opened the door wide, walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down. She gently felt her mother's long soft hair, and moved some strands away from her face. Her eyes opened and she just stared at Serah for a couple of seconds.

"What are you doing home so soon?" She asked, voice full of tears. It almost made Serah want to circle up and cry.

Serah bit her lip, "I kinda just left. Snow broke up with me. I got a D minus on AP Chemistry."

Her mother, Charlotte, shook her hand and reached for Serah's hand, "I'm sorry Serah. You studied so hard for that test, and you and Snow were so made for eachother."

"Guess not." Serah sighed and held her mother's hand, "How are you feeling?"

She didn't respond for a minute, and then she let go of Serah's hands, leaving them cold. " It's not like I haven't been hit before by your father." She spat, causing Serah to flinch.

"Sorry I asked."

"No I'm sorry, you're just making sure i'm ok. I feel fine right now, good enough for me to get up and head to the store to get some things for dinner tonight. I'm gonna make your dad's favorite. I invited Claire over too."

"Good luck getting her to sit at the table with Dad." Serah laughed for the first time that day. Her mom smiled to and laughed a little.

About an hour later Charlotte was dressed and was getting her keys and purse. She waved to Serah as she pulled out of the driveway and went on down the road. Serah didn't know how she did it; with all that had happened with her dad, the idea of living was still foggy to her. She decided that it would be best to go take a quick nap so she could stay wide awake through dinner. She made her way to her bedroom, a large room with pastel pink paint on the walls, and with large windows with white curtains. Mog came running in and jumped right onto the perfectly made bed, making some pillows fall off the side. Serah curled up next to her dog and quietly drifted off to sleep.

 _Flashback_

 _5 years ago_

" _Higher Lightning!" 13 year old Serah called to her older sister as she pushed her on the swings._

" _Any higher and you might fall off." Lightning chuckled and continued to push Serah._

" _Girls! Dinner time!" A voice rang out from the house, and the two saw their mother appear at the back door._

" _I'll race ya." Serah sang getting into a sprinting position._

" _Oh yeah." Lightning laughed and got in a running position too._

" _Ready? Set. Go!" Serah yelled as she started running as fast as she could towards the house. Lightning was already ahead of her considering she was a head taller than her sister. Lightning reached the back door first and quickly pulled it open. Serah arrived seconds later as the door was about to shut._

" _Ha, beat you again!"_

" _Whatever, you probably cheated somehow…." Serah laughed as they both walked into the kitchen._

 _Then her blood ran cold. There was her dad sitting at the table with a beer in his hand, looking already way too intoxicated for her liking. Her mother quickly sat dishes down at the table and brought over glasses of water. It was Dad's favorite, spaghetti. Serah always hated it but she always forced herself to eat it to please her father. Serah took a seat next to her father and Lightning sat on the other end of the table; she had already begun rebelling against their parents._

" _Lightning. How was school ?" Her dad asked, sipping a little more of his beer down._

" _Fine." Lightning barely spoke._

 _He blinked, "What was that young lady?"_

 _Lightning looked him dead in the eye and said once again , "Fine."_

 _He just smiled and downed the beer, next turning to Serah, who sat there watching her hands._

" _What about you Serah? How was school?"_

" _It was great Dad. Today in math we learned how to add fractions and decimals. Also in science-"_

" _LOOK AT ME WHEN YOU TALK!" His voice boomed and made her jump almost out of her chair. Charlotte dropped a glass as well shattering it into pieces._

 _He angrily stood up and walked across the room to where she knelt, picking up large glass shards._

" _You're such a clutz Char! Can't you do anything right!" And with that he slapped her across the face. Serah gasped and Lightning cringed. He just laughed and told her to clean it up. This was the first of many times that Serah's dad hit her mom. And it wasn't even the worst one yet….._

Serah sat up, drenched in her own sweat. _It was just another dream_ she whispered to herself as she laid back down. The smell of marinara sauce filled her nose; her mom must have came back. She quickly glanced over at the clock, it read six thirty eight. Serah stood up and pushed the curtains open to look outside, where her mom's car was parked. Her dad wasn't home. Lightning's car wasn't there either. She sighed and shut the curtains and decided to go see what her mom was doing. Out of her room and down the stairs she went, until she reached the kitchen. Her mom quickly noticed her presence.

"Honey, what are these?" she asked holding up the transfer papers.

Serah blinked, "Uhhhh, those are my transfer papers. I want to go to New Bodhum Preparatory."

Her mom looked back at the papers, "Oh, I see. Why do you want to transfer though, I thought you liked your school. I mean what about Snow, Courtney and Jeremy?"

"Mom, can you just sign the permission slip." Serah sighed rubbing a finger on her temple.

"Oh i suppose so."

And with that she hastily signed her signature at the dotted line. One down, only one left. Serah heard the door open; hoping it was Lightning she ran to the door to see her father enter with a beer from the garage. He looked annoyed, maybe not a good day at work.

"Hi Dad!" Serah smiled sweetly as her father just brushed past her. He mumble something but she couldn't quite make out what it was.

Her mother scrambled in the kitchen to put dinner onto plates, and she quickly made it out in time to place his place before he sat down. Charlotte signaled Serah to come sit down at the table, even though Serah was still waiting for Lightning to show up. She gave into her mother and took a seat at the table across from her and next to her dad.

"So honey, how was work?" Charlotte asked beginning to twirl her noodles with her fork.

"Terrible. I was let off."

Serah gasped and quickly regretted it because of the look her father gave her. Charlotte took a sip of her water, and sighed.

"What are you going to do?" Serah quietly asked, hoping she wouldn't get a hand across her face as an answer. Wrong answer Serah.

He swung and hit her right in the cheekbone, knocking her off her chair and onto the cold tile floor. Her vision went black for a moment and when it came back to focus, her father was standing above her.

"I tell you what we're going to do," he growled, "we're going to sell your filthy ass as a prostitute."

He sat back down and continued eating, while Serah picked herself off the ground and ran off to her bedroom. She could hear her parents begin to argue as she climbed up the stairs, followed by Mog. Serah ran into room shutting the door behind Mog, and then she collapsed on her bed. She would have to get her dad's signature somehow, but did she know how. No, not a clue.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Next morning Serah got up and took a shower before school would start. When she got out of the shower she was startled to see the huge bruise that had appeared on her cheekbone. She tried to cover most of it with makeup, but it still looked like she had been punched in the face. What would the kids at school think. Then she remembered, she had to get her dad's signature; maybe she'd check him on his way to work- oh wait, he was fired last night. Serah quickly got dressed, and headed down stairs, where she saw her mother cooking breakfast and her father was on the computer. Picking up the papers, she quickly said hello to her mother and approached her father. Very cautiously.

"Um Dad,"

"Yes."

Serah took deep breath in and exhaled, "Could you sign this for me?"

He snatched the papers out of her hand, "What's this?"

"Transfer papers for New Bodhum Preparatory."

"Where your sissy goes, eh?" he smirked, and grabbed a pen from the table. He handed the papers back to her with a smile, "I never liked public schools anyway."

Serah quickly slid the papers into her backpack and threw it over her shoulders. Charlotte met her at the door with a worried look on her face.

"Honey are you sure you want to go to school with a big bruise on your face?"

Serah nodded, and besides with Dad being home she probably would get hit more with staying at home. With that she headed through the garage and grabbed her bike, and headed out the door. She couldn't believe her dad said yes, It was so unexpected, but yet again he was at least sober. Pushing the pedals she rode past the bridge, and the grocery store, to and the light, and finally to the school. Serah was pretty early, but she had planned to have enough time to find her classes and her locker. She walked through the big wooden doors and over to the office, where the same lady sat in her chair.

"Got those papers signed?" she asked as Serah nodded and handed over the paper. "Fabulous dear. Now here is your locker number and combination, and here is also your schedule. If you need help finding any class, please just come back here."

Serah nodded and said thanks, and then she left to go find her locker. The hallways were about empty beside a couple of people, who were either sleeping or getting something from their lockers, and it didn't take her that long to find hers. One thirty three. It was at the middle of the junior hallway. Her old school's locker was eight twenty nine, and she was on the far end of the school. Here the lockers were separated by grade and then by alphabetical last name. She wondered where Lightning's locker was, since she was a senior. Serah quickly slid her books into the small locker and then she went to walk her schedule. Her first class was calculus at room two one nine, which was at the freshman hallway. She walked down the cold empty hallways until she came to the classroom; it was empty besides a teacher and a girl. The girl had long silver hair that reached down to her lower back, and she wore a headband made from different colored beads. She looked to be finishing some work. Serah walked into the class, introduced herself to the teacher, and walked over to where the girl was sitting.

"Hi, is anyone sitting here." Serah asked the girl about the seat in front of her.

The girl looked up and shook her head, "No, no one sits there."

Serah placed her stuff down and took a seat, which made the girl look kinda surprised.

She turned back to the girl, "Hey I'm Serah Farron, new student."

"Paddra Nsu Yeul, but my friends call me Yeul."

Serah smiled, "It's nice to meet you Yeul. Yeah I transferred here from New Bodhum high school-"

"Wait, are you related to Lightning Farron?"

Serah sighed, "Yes actually I am. I'm her sister."

Yeul smiled, "My friend knows her, they played basketball together."

"Do you happen to know where Lightning is?"

Yeul put down her pencil, "Well, she's probably at the gym with Fang-"

Serah was already halfway out of the room, when she turned and said, "Thanks! I'll be back here for first period!"

Yeul smiled and laughed. That Serah was a funny girl.

Serah had seen the gym when she first entered the building so she knew right away where it was. She quickly pushed open the big wooden door, where she could see a bunch of people playing basketball. Then she saw Lightning; she looked the same as ever, her hair slung over her shoulder, with a pair of ripped jeans and combat boots. Lightning shot a basket from the three pointer line, and made it. She then bumped fists with another girl with tan skin and dark brown almost black hair. That girl wore a tanktop, with an exposed arm tattoo, with shorts and combat boots too. There were a few boys playing too, but none of them looked familiar to Serah. Lightning sudden turned her head, as if she knew Serah was standing there, and saw her sister. She then started walking towards her, confusing many of the people on the court. Lightning finally reached her sister, and Serah pulled her into a hug; Lightning didn't reject the hug but she didn't necessarily hug her back. Lightning pulled away from the hug and quickly noticed the bruise on her cheekbone.

"Serah, what happened?" She asked turning Serah's head to one side so she could see the bruise better.

Serah sighed, "Ya know Dad."

Lightning clenched her fists, "What? He still hasn't gotten his drinking under control. It looks like you were in some kind of fight."

"Just wrong timing."

"He's like a ticking time bomb." Lightning sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

The olive skinned girl came walking over, along with some of the guys, and she gave Serah a big goofy smile.

"Hey Light," she had a very heavy accent, "Who's this?"  
Lightning turned to the girl, "Fang, this is my sister Serah." She turned back to Serah, "This is my best friend Fang."

"Dem Farron sisters got game!" A tan guy with orange hair that was spiked up.

Lightning gave him a death glare and growled, "Shut up Gadot."

"Watch it Gadot," a blue haired kid said, "Lightning's getting pretty pissed off."

"What happened to your face?" another small blonde kid asked pointing at Serah's cheekbone.

Lightning chuckled, "Serah gets into fights at her old school."

The crowd erupted in 'oooooooo's like a bunch of little kids. Serah crossed her arms and pouted her lip, "I do not! I got clipped by a bike and fell down."

"Sure ya did." Fang said making the group laugh, even Serah laughed a little.

Serah soon became aware of the group she was talking to. The tan looking guy was named Gadot, the blue guy was named Yuj, and the blonde one was Maqui. They were all Lightning's friends from middle school, as well as Fang. Serah talked to the group until the bell rang signaling that class was about to start. Serah waved goodbye to Lightning, and said she would see her at lunch; the whole school had lunch at the same time. She made her way back to the math classroom, but this time the class was almost full. Yeul was still sitting there finishing her homework. As Serah walked to her seat, she could hear the whispers of other students questioning her.

"Who is she?

"Dear Etro, she's hot."

"Her outfit is so cute."

"Is she related to Lightning?"

"I love her hair color."

"I wonder if she has a boyfriend?"

Serah quickly sat down as the final bell rang. The teacher, an old man with a mustache, walked to the front of the room and looked around. He held a clipboard with him, and checked off people's names when he saw them. When he landed on Serah's name, he paused.

"Miss Farron, welcome to our school, I've heard much about you." Mr. Oldham said walking over to where Serah sat. "My wife works as the secretary and I had your sister last year."

Serah smiled and said thanks, and with that he continued on to the lesson. About halfway through class though there was a knock at the door. Mr. Oldham walked over to the door, looked out the window, and gave a rather large sigh. Serah heard Yeul giggle behind her. He finally gave in and opened the door, and in stepped this boy. Serah's heart stopped; this boy was something else. He was so tall, almost six foot, and his features were so sharp. His jaw bone and his cheekbones were almost perfect, and his eyes were as blue as sapphires. The boy had longer brown hair, but it wasn't too long, it wasn't as long as Snow's. He wore a white v-neck shirt with a pair of jeans; which would look fine on everyone else, but on him it made him look like a male model. Mr. Oldham sighed and tapped his foot impatiently.

"Mr. Kriess, you are late. Again."

Kriess reached into his back pocket and pulled out an excuse slip. With that Mr. Oldham walked back to his desk grumbling. The boy walked straight towards Serah, and their eyes met for a moment; Serah could hear her heart beating out of her chest, she wondered if he could hear it too. He took a seat besides Yeul, who looked overjoyed to see the boy. _Oh great_ Serah thought as she reorganized her desk, _It's been a day and I'm already over Snow._

From the corner of Serah's eyes, she saw Yeul reach over and pull the boy's arm.

"Noel, where were you? You had me worried."

 _Noel, so that's his name_ Serah dreamily said his name over and over in her head.

Noel chuckled, "Sorry Yeul," _God his voice is perfect_ , "Coach Thomas wanted to talk to me before school and it lasted a little too long."

Yeul sighed, "Well at least your in class now."

"Who's your friend?"

Serah's heart stopped for the eighth time today. God she wished she didn't have a bruise on her face; she checked her reflection in the her phone's screen, the bruise didn't look to noticeable, only if you were really up close.

Yeul tapped Serah, signaling her to turn around. Serah turned around slowly and once again met eye to eye with the mysterious boy.

Serah tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, "I'm Serah Farron." She politely suck out her right hand towards Noel.

He smiled, and took her hand in his, "Noel. Noel Kriess."

The instant he let go of holding her hand, Serah felt cold; she felt empty and alone again. This boy was like the feeling of home, the warm embrace that rises your soul and fills your cup. She wanted more of this boy, so much more. She wanted him to be hers and vice versa. This lustful feeling, she'd never have felt it with Snow; it was like this boy screamed take me.

Lunch finally came, and Serah couldn't be happier. After having three out of four classes with Noel, she was so ready to tell Lightning about her day so far. Lightning was sitting alone at a table when Serah arrived; she guessed the others hadn't arrived yet. Serah pulled up a seat next to Lightning, and gently laid her head on her sister's shoulder. Lightning chuckled and smiled, and pushed Serah off of her.

"So," Lightning asked, "why are you coming here now? I didn't get a chance to ask you earlier."

Serah sighed and started playing with her hair, "Snow dumped me. I know it's stupid but I can't go on seeing him everyday."

"He means that much to you?"

Serah shook her head, "Not anymore, I got someone new to look forward to."

She smirked, "Who?"

"Oh no one."

Lightning shoved Serah a little too hard, almost knocking her off the chair, "Come on you can tell me."

"Tell you what?"  
Fang asked as she sat down across from Lightning, a small smirk playing on her lips.

"Nothing." Serah finished before Lightning could reply.

Soon the three were joined by Gadot, Yuj, Maqui, and a girl name Lebreau.

"Serah's apart of the gang now." Gadot laughed as he ate some on his french fries.

Maqui smiled, "Feels like we've known you longer than just a day."

Serah nodded, actually feeling a lot better about the stress of changing schools. Today had been amazing so far, much better than life would be at New Bodhum high school. She'd probably would be having to deal with constant reminders of her and Snow breaking. Also if she never changed schools she would have never met Noel. Noel, amazingly handsome Noel. Speak of the devil, Serah quickly spotted him from the crowd; he was sitting with Yeul at a high table. She wondered if they were a thing or not. Yeul seemed mighty attached to Noel, almost in a boyfriend girlfriend kind of way.

"Earth to Serah! Hello! Anyone in there!" Fang yelled, waving a hand in her face.

Serah blinked and turned to Lightning, who was about to die laughing, "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing." Lightning smiled, as she and the rest of the group stood up to leave the cafeteria. Serah quickly got up and followed them to her next class, which was AP Language Arts. She was one of the first people to make it to the class, when she felt a hand on her lower back. She turned her head and about ran her face right into Noel's. There they were standing in the class, faces inches from each other, and Serah's heart about stopped.

"Hey." Noel's voice ran through her ears.

Serah smiled, "Hi."

Noel smirked, which was so damn sexy, "Want to sit with me?"

"Sure." Serah tried to play it off casual, but she thought it just looked stupid. Obviously Noel didn't think so.

She and Noel sat in the very back of the class, and soon the bell rang. The teacher started talking about rules and nonsense, but Serah couldn't quite pay attention. Her eyes kept glancing over to look at Noel, who was paying attention to whatever the teacher was saying.

So it was surprising when Noel said, "Like what you see."

Serah smiled and pushed her hair over her shoulder, "Maybe."

Serah drifted back to reality, and realized the teacher was talking about some partner work project they were going to be doing. Serah quickly looked to Noel, who was actually looking at her.

She smirked, "Like what you see."

He laughed, which about made her heart melt, "Maybe."

"Do you want to be my partner Noel?" Serah asked kicking her feet underneath her desk.

"I thought you'd never ask."

It was finally the end of the day, and serah couldn't be happier. When she reached her locker, there was Noel leaning right against it. She smiled as he adjust himself to move out of her way.

"Sooo," He started looking at all her pictures, "your place?"

"Excuse me!" Serah asked and started blushing furiously.

"I meant for the project Serah."

Serah laughed, "Oh, for a moment there you had me. But can't we go to your place?"

Noel sighed, "Not today, or this week. My friend that I live with his having important business meetings, and he told Yeul and I we couldn't have anyone over."

 _Yeul and him,_ Serah's panic faded as she realized they must be only friends.

"Oh okay, well then yeah at my place." Serah said as she jotted her address down on a slip of paper, and handed it to Noel. "Come anytime."

"Will do-"

"NOEL GET YOUR PRETTY BOY ASS AWAY FROM MY LOCKER!" A girl with a darker colored pink hair yelled, causing Noel to almost jump.

"Sheesh Vanille, I'm going." Noel said turning to the girl, Vanille, and then back towards Serah, "See ya babe."

Serah waved bye, and then turned back to get her books and stuff. she felt a pair of eyes on her though, and she quickly turned around to see the girl staring at her.

"Your new around here, aren't you?" Her accent wasn't as thick as Fang's but it was still there. She was cute, with emerald green eyes and long flowing hair that looked like a coral color.

"Yeah," Serah said grabbing her backpack and shutting her locker, "I'm Serah Farron."

"OH, so your Serah!" Vanille said grabbing onto Serah's hand and shaking it. " I'm Oerba Dia Vanille, but I go by Vanille. I'm Fang's sister."

"I can see the resemblance with the accent." Serah laughed as Vanille finally let go of her hand.

Vanille laughed, then whispered, "I'm not like her though."

"What do you mean?"

Vanille giggled and said, "Fang's crazy, she does crazy stuff and loves it. Me, on the other hand, is more calm and mature, even though she's a year older than me."

"SO, you and Noel huh?"

Serah blinked, "Is it that obvious?"

"Kinda."

"Please don't tell me he has a girlfriend or some crazy ex girlfriend that i have to worry about." Serah said bangging her head against the locker.

"Nope," Vanille laughed, "never has had a girlfriend. I've known him for a while and he has never liked anyone quite like you."

"Really?"

"Yeah for sure."

Serah smiled, "Well, it was nice meeting you Vanille! I've got to go! See ya." Serah called as she walked past the coral haired girl.

"Bye Serah."

Serah couldn't wait to tell her mom about the day she have had. Maybe even her dad too. Once Serah got her bike, she peddled all the way home, in a matter of about ten minutes. When she finally got how, she parked her bike outside the garage door, and walked around back. She sometimes liked to go swing in her backyard, it reminded her of the days where Lightning was still around. Serah saw the back door open and Mog come running out, barking at all the birds by the feeder. She then saw Serah and ran over to her; Serah met her halfway and hugged the dog, picking her up to sit on the swing with her. Serah could see her mom through the window looking out towards her. She placed Mog on the ground and walked to the back door, and gently turned the knob, letting herself and Mog inside. Her mother was already cooking something for dinner, and her father was in the same place he had been this morning.

"Mom, Dad, I had the best day today!" Serah said sitting her backpack down on the table. Her mother looked happy while her father looked irritated.

Her mother smiled, "That's wonderful honey."

Her father made a grumble sort of groan noise.

"I'm having someone come over tonight, to work on a project."

Charlotte grinned, "Someone made a new friend."

Serah nodded, as she walked around the counter, "Yup, and he's absolutely amazing."

Thomas snorted, "You and a boy? What, do you want to be on sixteen and pregnant?"

"Thomas!It is just a friend of Serah's." Charlotte scolded, making Thomas just get even more agitated.

"Well we need the money." Thomas smirked and laughed to himself.

Charlotte gasped, "Thomas!"

"Mom," Serah grabbed her mom's arm, "it's alright. He just being an instigator."

Thomas snorted, but didn't say anything. Serah took that as her cue to leave. Mog and her hurried up stairs to her bedroom, shutting the door behind the little dog. Serah then stood in front of her full length mirror; she looked pretty with a red plaid-pleated skirt lined with black lace, a white sleeveless dress shirt, a semi-transparent pink sweeper, an extra matching hair tie on her left wrist, black thigh-high stockings with a white diamond shape attached to the top of her left stocking, and her favorite pair of ivory ankle boots. She gently tugged on her ponytail rubber band, and pulled it out, letting her long hair cascade down her back. Mog happily ran around her room with a ball in her mouth, which was one of her favorite toys. serah then plugged in her straightening iron, to straighten her hair before Noel got here. She took very small sections of her naturally wavy hair and clamped the iron down on her hair, and dragged it down. Soon all her head of hair was straightened, and rested at her lower back. Mog ran over to where Serah was seated at her vanity, and jumped on the side of the chair. She ran her hands through the dog's fur, and then she scratched her little head; Mog sighed happily and laid down beside the chair in satisfaction. Mog's ears suddenly perked up, and she dashed to the door, crying and barking. Serah hurried to the door to let her dog out, and when she opened the door she was greeted by her father; Mog quickly ran past him and headed down the stairs.

"Hey Dad, you need something?" Serah asked confused.

He gave her a sinister smiled, "You know exactly what I'm going to tell you.:

Serah sighed, "Don't tell anyone about the bruises. I got it."

He grabbed her arm, tight, "Don't use that tone with me young lady, or I'll never let you leave this house."

Serah tried to pry his fingers off her arm, but to no avail; she could feel the circulation in her arm being cut off. He easily grabbed her other hand and held it too, pinning her against the door frame. His breath smelled of beer and whiskey.

"You understand you filthy whore."

Serah glared, but just shook her head yes.

He let go of her and walked over to the stairs and head down stairs; Serah just stood there holding her arm, where his fingernails almost drew blood. She headed back into her room and looked out the window, where she saw her mother and father talking to none other than the man himself. Noel looked the same besides now having rode his motorbike with him. She was disgusted by how her father pretended to love his wife has he had an arm wrapped around her. They looked liked a normal pair parents, but only Serah knew the truth. She headed out of her bedroom and down the stairs, to where Mog was barking and pawing at the door. Through the door she could see Noel shaking her father's, and her mother headed towards the door. Serah opened the door quickly before Mog could get out, and walked outside to where Noel and her father were talking. Her mother stopped her halfway, a look of worry on her face.

"Honey, what happened to your arm?"

Serah looked down at the tiny red marks appearing on her arm, and just as if her father had eyes in the back of his head, he turned and looked her right in the eye.

"Nothing Mom, just Mog."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Things were happening way too quickly. First Serah had took Noel, by the hand, and lead him to her room for more privacy. Once they had gotten to her room, they sat down on the floor to discuss their project ideas, which was over greek mythology. The assignment was was to read a certain chapter of the Odyssey and write a report over it's important and the story. Serah began to read in her head, but suddenly felt that his eyes were watching her. She looked up and met his gaze; Serah gently sat the book down and crawled over to where he was sitting. She knew what he wanted, and she wanted it too. Taking a deep breath, she laced her hand with his. It was warm and made her feel comfort, like if all the pain that has happened suddenly disappeared. She moved his hand to her face, where she let it rest on the side of her cheek; she needed that love, it was something she couldn't get from her parents, or Lightning, or anyone else.

"Noel," she silently spoke, "this is going to sound crazy, but-"

Noel smiled, "I think I know what you're gonna say."

She sighed and smiled, " I-I just met you, but i feel like i've known my whole life."

"Maybe it's fate."

Serah giggled, "You believe in that stuff, huh?"

Her heart stopped at his next few words.

"If it means meeting you, then yes."

Serah couldn't help but just look at him; she just sighed and gave a shy smiled. Snow had never told Serah he loved her or anything to that caliber. Snow just liked kissing and making out, while Serah just did it to please him. Noel was different; words came before the physical content began. Serah felt her body become stiff and she didn't know what was going to happen, but she didn't care. So when Noel leaned in, only a few inches away from her face, she didn't stop him. She didn't want to. She noticed a small scar on his cheek. She wanted to know everything about the boy standing in front of her. And more than anything, she wanted to feel his lips on hers. His lips crashed down onto hers, and for a moment the kiss was long and slow. Gentle and delicate. They parted away a few seconds, heads leaning against each other, and Noel gave a small smirk. Serah smiled as she looked him deep in the eye; Noel cupped her face in his hands and pulled her in again. This time the kiss was hot and passionate, with both of the teens wanting more. Serah surprised herself as she kissed Noel hungrily, hands weaving themselves through his hair. His mouth was so warm, the caress of his lips softer than she could have imagined. He tasted tentatively with his tongue, and Serah opened her mouth with a low was soon straddling his hips while sitting in his lap. She wanted to feel his warm body on hers, so she began tugging on the top part of his shirt.

She broke the kiss, and breathlessly said, "This needs to come off. Like now."

Noel smirked, which almost made her pounce back onto his mouth, "Ladies first."

 _Serah, wait. This isn't you,_ a voice deep inside her called to her. Serah didn't care if it wasn't her at all, if this was how Noel wanting to play then fine.

Serah tore off her sweeper, and began unbuttoning her white dress shirt, which Noel helped her unbutton as well. She then let that fall to the floor, leaving her in her white laced bra.

"Like what you see now?" Serah smirked and laughed, while tugging on the top of Noel's shirt.

Noel smiled as she pulled it over his head, "Maybe."

"What do you mean maybe?" Serah laughed as she threw his shirt across the room. They both laughed, but then things grew intense again; here they were no shirts, in her bedroom, with her straddling him. Next thing she knew, she was kissing him again; quick little kisses around the mouth and down his neck.

"What happened to your face?" Noel asked as Serah broke off the kiss.

 _Tell him_ the voice urged, but Serah wasn't going to let her father ruin what was happening between her and Noel.

"Nothing," she said leaning her head against his, "got clipped by a bike and fell down."

Noel furrowed his brows, "You sure? It almost looks like someone punched you."

 _Lie,_ one of the voices shouted at the back of her head, _say it was anyone besides your father._

"It was my Ex," Serah murmured against Noel's lips, "he and I got in a fight before we broke up and he got really upset. Just needed someone to take his anger out on and i was there."

Noel looked her dead in the eyes, "I would never do that to you."

And she was back to passionately kissing him, with her hands tangled in his brown hair. Nothing could stop them. Nothing.

Except for Serah's mom.

"Honey, dinner's ready. Noel and you can come down."

Serah sighed and fell onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck and cuddling up to his neck. He felt warm, and it made her forget about all that was happening around her. with her mom and dad, with school, with Lightning, and with Snow.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" _Or forever?_

Noel sighed and wrapped his hands around Serah's waist, "Sorry, I can't. I promised Yeul I'd take her out tonight while Caius is at his meetings."

"I-I don't want you to leave." Serah whispered against his skin.

"I don't want to either," Noel rested his head on top of Serah's, "but you'll see me tomorrow. And I can come home with you after school, if you want."

Serah nodded happily against him, and finally let go of her embrace. The two hurried to get dressed once again, and then Serah walked Noel down the stairs.

"Staying for dinner?" Thomas asked from his place on the bar stool.

Noel shook his head, "No sir, not tonight, but thanks anyway."

Charlotte smiled, "It's no problem hun, I'm just glad Serah made a friend."

"Me too." Serah said taking Noel's hand and pulling him towards the door. She opened the door and walked outside with him to his motorbike. He was about to put his helmet on when she pulled his arm; he turned to her with a questioning look on his face.

"What?" He simply asked with a small smile.

Serah took a deep breath, "Please don't leave me."

He took Serah's face in his hands and made her look him in the eye, "I promise, I will never leave you. I see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay." Serah sighed as he dropped his hands from her face. He then hopped onto his motorbike and slid his helmet over his head. Serah waved as she walked back up the lane to the door, and one last night looked at the boy before he left her. He waved as he pulled out of the driveway and took off on the road. She entered the house to hear her parents already arguing; like the mask they put on for Noel just disappeared completely.

"You're such a bitch!" Her father roared, causing Mog to run and hide.

"And you're an asshole!" Charlotte screamed back, causing Serah to flinch.

Thomas then stood up, and approached Charlotte, with an evil look on his face, "What was that?"

"You heard me." Charlotte was walking thin ice now, Serah knew she couldn't get in between them, or else.

Serah carefully made her way around the living room to where the stairs were, when she heard a slap. She turned to she her mother lying on the floor, hand clutched to her face, and her father standing tall over her. She knew she would only make things worse, but seeing her mother in pain brought a fire to Serah's eyes.

"Dad. Leave her alone."

Thomas turned to look at the small girl, " Your boyfriend isn't here to protect you anymore. You better shut your mouth."

Serah walked down the stairs, " He's not my boyfriend, and I don't need protection from you."

"Says the bruise on your face." He laughed, as Serah's mother slowly picked herself up from the ground.

"You're the one who did this to me! I'm tried of you abusing Mom and I! Were not your toys to take your anger out on." Serah said keeping a good amount of space between them.

"You better shut your damn mouth, or else i'll shut it for you-"

"You won't touch me anymore!" Serah shouted, interrupting her father.

Serah knew what was going to happen, so she took off; she ran quickly up the stairs, three at a time, with her father coming up behind her. The door was one a few feet away, she had to make it, and she did. She quickly shut the door behind her just in time, locking the door as well. Her father started screaming and banging his hands on the door; Serah just crawled to the farthest corner of her room, and pulled herself into a little ball. The screaming continued for hours. Sometimes she really thought he was going to get in, and who knows what would happen then. _You should've kept your mouth shut and we wouldn't be in this situation,_ the voices rang throughout her head. She just longed for the feeling she felt with Noel; she wished she could go back in time and relive those moments forever. Over and over again for the rest of her life.

She awoke in the morning cold, mostly because she slept by the vent and the window, but besides that she slept well. Serah had managed to get to sleep once all the chaos had calmed down, and now she was ready to get back to school. She got up and got dressed, brushed her hair and did her makeup, and finally left her room. It was quiet this morning which was unusual for their household. Serah quickly climbed down the stairs and made it to her back pack; picking it up she quickly headed straight for the door, but was stopped by someone grabbing her arm. She yelped in pain as finger nails dug deep into her skin; turning she met face to face with Thomas, who looked like he hadn't had any sleep at all that night.

"You," he growled, "that's strike one."

Serah tried prying his fingers off her arm, worried that people would notice the marks, " what do you mean 'strike one'?"

"It means that if you show your ass two more times, then it's bye bye school. Bye bye friends. Bye bye Noel. I saw how you looked at him," Her father smirked and laughed, "he'll never like a girl like you."

"You don't know anything about him." Serah said glaring straight into her father's eyes.

Thomas laughed, "And yet I do. So you should keep your mouth shut, and stay out of the fucking way."

The last words he growled right into her ears, making chills run up and down her spine. He finally let go, and Serah quickly made a beeline straight for the door; when she got outside she checked her arm, little scratches but nothing too bad. With that she hopped on her bike and peddled off to school, glad to be far away from her parents. But his words kept echoing inside her head, _That's strike one. Bye bye school. Bye bye friends. Bye bye Noel._

She parked her bike outside the school entrance and took a deep breath. It was her first strike, wasn't like he was gonna deliberately go against her values and anger her dad even more. She was a smart girl, and could take a hint. So she decided to push back her worries and thought and just focus on today. Walking into the school made her feel new and refreshed, like it was time to move on with her life. She about had a heart attack when someone ran and grabbed her injured arm.

"Serah," Vanille said hugging onto her arm, "please tell me you have the Chemistry notes with you!"

Serah nodded slowly, "Yeah, in my locker."

Vanille sighed, "Thank Etro! Hope wouldn't let me borrow his-"

"Hope?"

"Yeah, Hope Esthiem," Vanille shook her head, "he's a friend, i'll have to introduce you!"

Serah laughed, "So he your boyfriend?"

"He wishes."

The two girls walked down to Serah's locker, where she happily gave Vanille her Chemistry notes. Vanille took them and slid down onto the floor by her locker to copy the notes. Serah looked down the hallway for Noel, but she didn't see him anywhere. Yeul was probably in math, so if Yeul was there Noel was bound to be there too.

"Hey Vanille," Serah said turning to the girl on the floor, "I'm going to drop my stuff off, just bring the notes to lunch."

"M'kay."

Serah then took off walking towards the math classroom; it was down the hallway, down the stairs, hallway to the right, last door on the left, right by the gym. Since there was no one even here yet, Serah easily made her way to her Calculus class. Inside sat a sad looking Yeul, and a concerned Noel; Yeul had a large bruise appearing on her temple, but she didn't try to conceal the mark like Serah had. Serah quickly walked across the room and took a seat next to Noel.

"Yeul," Serah asked, reaching for the young girl's hand, "what happened?"

Serah took her hand and held it; it was cold like ice but soft like a pillow.

She exchanged glances with Noel, "He hit me last night."

"Who?" She suddenly felt like sharing her innermost thoughts.

"Caius." Noel answered and finally looked at Serah. His face was the same as it had been yesterday, but this time his smile was gone.

"Whose Caius?" Serah asked as she turned to look at Yeul's bruise forming.

Noel sighed, "He's the friend we live with, the one that had those meetings yesterday. Him and I got in a fight, I left, he does this to Yeul, then leaves, I come back to pick up the pieces. Every other night."

"He didn't mean to Noel," Yeul sadly said as she tightened her grip on Serah's hand, "he was just angry."

"Yeah, but that doesn't give him the right to hit you because he's angry."

She turned to Serah, "You know what it's like don't you?"

Serah pulled away, completely shocked, "What! No I don't!"

And with that Serah quickly stood up and started walking away. She heard Noel call her name a few times, but she didn't turn around or say anything. She quickly walked to the gym, where she heard the familiar sound of basketball being dribbled. Lightning caught a rebound and head to the other side of the court, when she saw her sister. She passed the ball to Fang, who in turn shot the basket and made it, and ran over to where Serah was standing.

"What happened to your arm?" Lightning grabbed her sister's injured arm and examined it. She shook her head in disgust. "It's getting worse. Much worse."

"I know, but I don't know what to do!" Serah said panicing, her heart was beating clear out of her chest. "You tried to get the authority figures to do something, and he just covered it up! Like it always happens!"

"You need to leave."

"What? I can't leave Mom like you did. What do you think will happen to her?" Serah gasped and wrenched her arm away from Lightning's grasp.

"Serah, listen to me. Mom will be fine, you can come and live with me, Fang, and Vanille. It will be safe and you won't have to hide anymore."

"Lightning," Serah sighed, "I can't just get up and leave Mom."

With that she turned and left her sister standing there. Serah couldn't deal with this right now; with everything becoming a huge stack of problems she had to deal with. She just couldn't do it. Serah made her way to the main hall, and was about to open the door to leave the building, when someone grabbed her hand. Someone hand she felt before. Noel spun her around and grabbed onto her forearms. A look a worry across his face.

"Serah, I'm sorry about what Yeul said. I told her about your Ex hitting you too, to try and make her feel like she's not alone. I shouldn't have told her without your permission."

Serah sighed, and tried to get away from his grasp, something she usually finds herself doing "I don't care that you told Yeul, Noel. Just let go."

Noel's brows furrowed, "Why? Where are you going?"

"I'm just leaving. This is too much for me to handle right now."

"What's too much for you to handle right now?"

Serah was on the verge of tears, "It's nothing-"

"Nothing huh? Is it us? A relationship? Me?"

Serah turned and looked him straight in the eye, tears forming in her tear ducts, "No. It's nothing to do with you, if anything you're the only thing that's right in my life!"

Noel kept quiet for a minute, and then he pulled Serah closer, until she was wrapped in his embrace. Serah didn't resist or push away, she just left him hold her; she even wrapped her arms around him too. There they stood, in the middle of the hallway, but it felt like they were somewhere different. Somewhere where her problems didn't exist, and a place where his fears never came true. Serah could feel the tears slipping down her cheeks, but she didn't care. Everything was alright for the moment. And then that moment ended.

Noel pulled back and grabbed onto her shoulders, then he leaned in and kissed her tears away. He stood back again, and wiped a small dash of mascara off her eye; then he smiled, which made all her fears go away. All she needed was his smile.

"Then I better stick around, right?" he said as he grabbed both of her hands.

Serah gave a small smile, "I guess so."

Soon it was time for lunch, and Serah couldn't be happier. Besides trying to avoid Lightning all day, being ushered every by Noel, and almost forgetting her Chemistry notes from Vanille. When she finally made it to the Cafeteria, she gazed around the room looking for the coral haired girl. She spotted her sitting at a table with Fang, Maqui, and a silver haired boy. Vanille saw her and started waving frantically. Serah made her way over to the table, Vanille meeting her halfway and pulling her the rest. She pulled her over to where the silver haired boy sat; he looked up from his Calculus book, and his green eyes flashed towards her.

"Serah, this is my friend Hope!" Vanille said gesturing towards the boy.

"Hey."

"Hiya."

Vanille ran over and hugged Hope around the shoulders, "We've been friends since like first grade!"

Hope just sighed and laid his head down on his math book. Fang gave a husky chuckle and propped her feet onto the table.

"What's so funny?" Serah asked the dark haired woman.

Fang smiled, "Those two make me laugh, and hey Lightning said you might be moving in with us. Guess i should be calling you rommie."

"Really!" Vanille gasp and let go of Hope, running back over to Serah and grabbing her hands, "That would be so fun."

Serah faked a smile, "Yeah maybe. I'm still deciding."

"Better decide quick," Fang laughed, "Hope may be moving in."

"What? I'm not Fang."

"You say that right now."

"Fang! Stop pestering Hope." Vanille placed her hands on her hips.

"I'll see you guys later." Serah sang as Fang and Vanille soon got into and argument.

Serah was walking straight towards Noel, when she felt someone grab her arm. It was Lightning; her faced showed no emotions. Serah pulled out of her grasp but Lightning was persistent.

"What do you want?" Serah coldly asked her sister.

Lightning sighed , "Look Serah, I didn't mean to push you this morning. It should be your decision whether to move out or not. It will be your consequences."

"Thank you lightning, seriously. You know me best and you know what's best for me. I'll think about it."

Lightning gave a small smile, "Thanks, that's all i can ask of you."

Serah gave her sister and quick hug, which she didn't respond to, and then headed over to where Yeul and Noel sat. Noel watched Yeul as she colored a picture of what looked like to be a flower. Serah pulled up a chair next to Noel.

"What are you drawing Yeul?" She asked as she and Noel intertwined hands underneath the table. His hand was warm, like always.

She looked up from her coloring, the bruise on her temple appearing for purple now, "It's a daisy; it's my favorite type of flower. I used to live by a field of them when i was younger, and i would always go pick some for the my foster parents."

Serah smiled, "That's so sweet, I wish i had a field of flowers behind my house. But then again we have the ocean behind our house, so it's okay."

"Yeul's never been to the ocean." Noel said giving her hand a squeeze.

"Really?"

Yeul shook her head, "No. Noel promised he'd take me on my birthday though. Which is only like two weeks away! You should come with us Serah."

"I'd love to, just give me a date and I'll be there."

"It's May ninth. Two weeks from tomorrow." Yeul said as she began coloring again.

"I'll remember!"

The bell had just rang a few seconds ago, and Serah was walking back to her locker to get her stuff to leave. She was debating whether to ask Noel to come home with her or not; one because of her dad, and two she didn't want to make out the whole time like last time. Hopefully her dad had found a reasonable job and was already out of the house. When she got to her locker she saw Vanille and Hope talking by her locker.

"He's a totally douchebag Vanille! How could you like a guy like that?"

"Excuse me Mother," Vanille said turning to the silver haired boy, "when did I care about your opinion."

Hope flushed and brushed his hair back, "I'm not your mother! I'm your best friend, and you cared last week when i told you, you had a pimple on your chin."

"don't bring my pimples into this," Vanille turned back to her locker, and noticed Serah approaching, "Oh Serah, you've met Maqui right?"

"Um yeah sure."

Vanile gestured to Hope, "Well Hope over here thinks he's, I'm quoting, 'douchebag', when he's obviously not. Right?"

"He doesn't seem like a douchebag. But I've only met him once." Serah said laughing as Hope jumped in between the two girls.

"Hah! So her opinion doesn't count."

"Yes it does!"

"No it doesn't Vanille!"

"Whatever Hopiekins."

"What did you just call me?"  
"You heard me."

"Ugh, I'm done with you."

and with that Hope took off in the other direction heading towards the stairs. Vanille laughed and shut her locker, turning to the rose haired girl.

"So, you and Noel official yet?"

Serah laughed, "I don't know what to exactly call 're not exactly dating but we're definitely not just friends, so it's kinda confusing."

Vanille smiled, looking past Serah, "Well, why don't we just ask the man himself. Here he comes with Yeul."

Sure enough, down the hallway walked Noel with Yeul. Her bruise still looked purplish but it seemed to be getting better somewhat. Noel immediately smiled when he saw Serah looking his way; soon the two of them approached the girls.

"Hey Serah, Vanille." Yeul said adjusting her backpack straps.

Vanille waved, "Hiya! Say Noel, you and Serah a thing now?"

"It's complicated."

"See," Serah said to Vanille, who just was trying not to laugh, "I said the exact same thing."

"So Serah," Noel asked interrupting Vanile, who was about to say something, your place or mine?"

"Um," Serah shifted her weight, "how about your place?"

Noel nodded, "You need a ride?"

"Sure."


	4. Chapter 4

Serah met Noel outside the school by his motorbike; Serah was a little anxious about riding one, because had never even been near one. Noel saw her and tossed her a black helmet, which she clumsily caught while trying to hold onto her backpack .

"This is safe right?" Serah asked as she came over to Noel's side, as he swung one of his legs over the bike.

"Oh yeah, perfectly safe. Why you haven't ridden one?"

"No, first time for everything." Serah replied as she swung one of her legs over the side of the bike, sliding the helmet over her head.

With that, Noel turned the bike on, which about scared Serah to death; she quickly wrapped her arms around his chest, and leaned into his back. She could feel him smirking as she tightened her grip. He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road, which was mainly just pebbles because they lived too close to the beach for huge roads. Serah could feel the wind on her skin and through her clothes, and she loved this sensation she felt. Riding the bike with Noel was like flying through the clouds, it was something Serah never imagined herself doing. It was so different yet so familiar to her. Soon they came through town, where Noel had to stop at a red light.

"You having fun back there?" he asked through his helmet.

Serah nodded, against his back, "Yes! This is amazing."

"Glad you like my way of getting around."

"Like? More like love."

Noel laughed as the light turned green again and they took off. They were soon on the outskirts of town when Noel pulled into a small neighborhood. The houses weren't anything as large as Serah's house, but they were normal people houses, some nicer than others. Noel pulled into a house on the corner of Salt Water Street, which was one of the nicer looking houses. The house was real modern looking; It was all white with a wooden garage door, and lights surrounded the house. There were many windows that showed into the house, and the grass was very green with many plants.

"Your house is so pretty." Serah said, sliding the helmet off her head and adjusting her hair.

Noel laughed, "Yeah, it was a hell of a deal when we brought it."

Serah sat the helmet back on the bike as her and Noel walked towards the main door, "So who is this Caius guy anyway?"

Noel sighed and turned back towards her, almost making her run into him, "Caius, he's my friend. We've known eachother for a long time, him, Yeul, and I. He kinda became a parental figure for me and Yeul, even though we're not related."

"The same Caius who hit Yeul? Doesn't seem like a father figure to me."

Noel gave a small chuckle, "Well that was before he started drinking."

 _Drinking,_ the word had so many meanings to Serah. First it just meant to have something to drink, then it meant drinking like as in alcohol. She was surprised to hear that even in Noel's family, there was an alcohol problem. Noel opened the door and held it open for Serah, who gladly walked in. The house, much like the outside, was styled in the modern look; white floors, white walls, white ceilings, and white furniture. Even though the house wasn't as big as Serah's, it had many of the same luxuries, like big televisions, nice furniture, and a lot of electronics. Serah heard someone coming down the stairs, which were very sleek and white, and she turned to look to see who it was. It was a man with long purple spiky hair, that wore a dress shirt and a pair of slacks. _That must be Caius_ Serah thought as the man approached her and Noel.

"Hello Noel, who's your friend?" the man's voice was deep and dark, and almost matched his personality.

Noel reached for Serah's hand, "Caius, this is Serah Farron. She's Lightning's sister."

"I see the resemblance." the man laughed and took Serah's hand for a shake. His hand was cold and clammy, and his grip was way too much for Serah's poor hand. She wished it was Noel's hand. He finally let go of her hand, and she let it drop back down to her side. "It's a pleasure Miss Farron, a beautiful lady like yourself is always welcomed here."

 _What a creep ,_ Serah thought to herself as she squeezed Noel's hand. He eagerly squeezed back.

"Come on Serah," Noel said as he pulled her over to the stairway. She looked over her shoulder as Noel pulled her towards the stairs, and saw Caius looking at her like how a lion looks at a gazelle before it pounces. Serah's head shot back around and she hurried to follow Noel back up the stairs. He lead her down a hallway with many windows, and finally at the end he turned right into a room. His room was white as well, but his furniture was either black or blue. Noel shut the door behind Serah and turned back towards her with a strange look on his face. "So what do you think of him?"

"Seems nice," Serah said as she walked over to the nearest window to look outside, " don't really understand why he would hit Yeul."

"Yeah me either." Noel said shaking his head, "But you would say something if you thought something right ?"

Serah lied , "Yeah of course."

Noel walked over to her and pulled her into a longing kiss. It was nice just being there with him, with no worries about her parents, or school or anything at all.

She pulled away slowly to look him in the eye, "We really need to get that project done. Then we can do whatever this is."

"What is this? What even are we?" Noel asked as Serah started rummaging through her backpack for her folder.

Serah shook her, "I don't know Noel, I know I have feelings for you and i know i like you more than a friend. But the rest of the stuff i don't really know. Maybe after this project we can figure it out."

So they sat on the cold tile and worked on the project for a few hours; they had it finally finished by four o'clock and Serah was ready to talk about her relationship with Noel. She knew exactly what she wanted to say, but didn't quite know how to put it into words. She knew she loved him, even though she just met him, and she wanted them to be together. But did he feel the same way?

"So," she started off by saying, "what do you want us to be?"

Noel smiled, "Isn't it obvious?"

"Kind of." Serah laughed and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well what do you want us to be?"

Serah pouted her lip, she does that when she thinks, "I want us to be in a relationship I guess. I mean we both like eachother more than friends, so the only other option is to be dating."

"Makes sense." Noel said leaning over by Serah, who happily allowed him to. Soon their noses were touching, and so were their foreheads.

"So you're mine?" Serah asked as she intertwined her fingers with his.

He smirked, "Yup, I'm all yours."

And with that they sealed the gap between them; Serah slowly drifted off to what she called her happy place, where nothing could ruin this moment. She loved being with Noel; he made her feel special and wanted, which was something she didn't feel very often, and no one had ever made her feel that way. Soon Serah was lying on the floor with Noel hovering above her, sending kisses down her jaw bone. She was glad they had finished their project, so that this time nothing could stop them. Except Serah's phone.

 _What the hell?_ Serah though as she sat up and reached into her bag to pull out her Iphone. It was her mother; she quickly hit ignore, and grabbed Noel by his collar pulling him back into the kiss. Noel questioned who it was, but when Serah pulled him back into the kiss he obviously got the message that it was no one important. They continued to passionately kiss for another few minutes, until Serah's phone rang again. This time it was her father.

She quickly pressed the answer button, "Hello?"

"Where the hell are you?" Her father hissed through the phone, making her cringe a little. "Are you really that stupid to not answer your mother?"

"I'm at Noel's house, we were just finishing the project. I completely forgot to text one of you to tell you where I was." Or maybe she had remembered and she just completely went against it.

"Well it's time to get your ass back home, darling." Her father's words said through the phone.

"Okay," Serah sighed, sitting up, ""be home soon."

"You better. This is strike two."

Serah dropped her phone when he said that. How could this be strike two? He was being an arrogant asshole and was just angry he didn't have someone besides Mom to hit.

"Sorry, I have to go." Serah said picking herself off the floor and gathering her stuff; Noel quickly got up and helped her pack her bag.

"You sure you can't stay any longer, I was about to take my shirt off." Noel smirked as he handed Serah her phone from the floor.

She playfully slapped him, "No, my parents are already going to kill me for not being home right after school."

"I can explain to them that it was my idea," Noel suggested, "then you wouldn't have to take all the blame."

"Okay," Serah nodded, "that will work too."

With that the two teens, went back out the hallway down the stairs, and through the living room until they came to the door. Caius stepped out of the kitchen and met them at the door.

"Pleasure meeting you Miss Farron. Hope to see you again."

Serah waved and smiled, "You too sir."

He watched her as Noel and her exited the room. Serah was closing the door when they made eye contact; he smirked began walking towards the door, which Serah quickly shut. She ran up to catch up with Noel, who was already putting on his helmet. Serah threw her helmet on, and Noel started the bike and off they went. Through the neighborhood, down the street, through town, and finally back to her neighborhood. Noel pulled up the driveway and parked the bike, pulling off his helmet, as Serah did too. Thomas and Charlotte came outside as the two were climbing off the bike.

"Serah, we were so worried." her mother said as she hugged her daughter, while her father shook hands with Noel again.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

Noel stepped next to Serah, "Sorry, it was all my idea. I suggested we go to my place instead of coming here."

"Oh it's no problem," Thomas said as he patted Noel on the back, "as soon as Serah said she was with you, I immediately stopped worrying."

"Mom, Dad, can I have a minute with Noel please." Serah asked both of her parents.

"Sure honey," her mother said taking her father's hand, "we'll be inside when you're done." She then pulled Thomas along back towards the door, who waved goodbye to Noel, and opened the door and walked inside.

"Whatcha need?" Noel asked as he leaned against his bike, the wind slowly blowing his hair across his face.

Serah smiled and walked close to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, " Just wanted to say thanks for giving me a ride home."

She leaned in and placed a kiss right onto his soft lips, and he eagerly kissed her back. After a minute or so, Serah pulled away and looked him in the eyes.

"What?" Noel asked as she continued to look at him.

Serah smiled, "Nothing, I'm all yours. Just remember that."

With that she turned on her heel and ran towards the door to her house; she made it right by the door when she turned and blew him a kiss.

"See you tomorrow boyfriend."

"See you later girlfriend." he called as he hopped onto his bike, and slid his helmet over his head.

Serah walked into the house feeling high and hopefully, but she was suddenly pushed down with the force of reality. Or her father. Her body hit the cold floor, and immediately tried to get herself back off the floor, but she was kicked back down by Thomas. He grabbed her hair and threw her back onto the tile floor, where she quickly pulled herself into a ball to protect herself from his kicks. He kicked her everywhere; she would have bruises all over her body tomorrow. He finally stopped, getting one last kick to her stomach, and walked away. Charlotte ran over when he had gotten a good distance, quickly searching her daughter's body for any severe injuries. Luckily besides a few bruises, there was nothing. She helped Serah off the floor, then Serah pushed her mom away and headed up stairs, followed by Mog. She finally made it to her room where she quickly shut the door, and locked it. Serah slid down the door onto the floor, where Mog happily licked her hand, and she started crying. It wasn't because she was sad, she was livid. She couldn't keep doing this everyday, it was tearing her apart in the knew she had to tell Noel, but she didn't know how. Maybe it was a good idea to leave and live with Lightning. But then again what about her mother, and Mog. Serah knew she just couldn't give up like this, she had to do something but what that something was, she didn't know. She only knew Noel; he was everything to her. She knew she couldn't get that third strike or else something really bad would happen.

The next morning, Serah was sore from all the kicks. She had many purple bruises covering her body, and it ached to move. She slowly got up and took a nice hot shower. It didn't help with the pain but she sure needed something to calm her nerves. Serah applied her makeup and blow dryed her hair; then after doing that she pulled out her curling iron to curl her ends. She carefully wrapped each hair around the iron, careful not to burn her fingers. Soon her ends were all massive curls that hung low down her back. She put on a long sleeve white shirt and a pair of blue jeans, with a pair of brown tall boots. At least the bruises weren't on her face. The bruise on her face had almost healed and was now a small mark. She grabbed her bag and headed out the door and down the stairs. She silently prayed her father wasn't up yet. He wasn't. She hurried out the door before anyone could stop her. She looked for her bike but then remembered she left it at the school when Noel had offered her a ride. _Guess you're walking_ Serah said to herself as she started down the sidewalk. The walk was long, and quiet; usually Serah could be at the school in a matter of ten minutes, but now she probably would get their in like twenty minutes, if she walks fast . It gave her a lot of time to think though, about all that had happened, and what she was going to do. When she finally made it to the school, she was exhausted. And there was her bike, just where she left it. _Note to self, hit Noel_ Serah said to herself as she remembered riding home with the boy. She was about to enter the building when her phone started ringing; she reached down and pulled it out of her backpack. It was Snow.

Serah put her phone to her ear, "Snow?"

"Hey Serah," Snow said, sounding like his usual self, " you haven't been to school these last three days. Everything okay?"

Serah sighed, "I transferred schools."

"W-what?" Snow asked confused, "When did this happen? Is this because of me?"

"What, no. I needed a change, and i just wanted a do over." Serah said switching from her right ear to her left ear.

Snow laughed, "You sure? You don't sound sure."

"I'm sure, is there something you wanted from me."

"Uh, yeah, actually." Snow chuckled, "You wanted to know who it was I was with when we broke up. Do you still want to know?"

"I mean, sure I guess." Serah was beginning to wonder where this conversation was going.

"It was your-"

Her phone was snatched away from her ear, and she turned to see Noel placing the phone on his ear.

"Uh Serah is unavailable right now, she'll have to call you back later." With that he pressed the end button and wrapped his arms around her waist. His head nuzzled in her neck, she could almost forget everything that was happening. Almost.

"Noel," Serah whined as he planted kisses across her shoulder. "that was an important call."

"More important than me?" he laughed as he came back around and kissed her right on the lips.

Serah sighed against his lips, "Maybe not, but still."

"Whose Snow?"

"My Ex."

"Hmmm," Noel hummed before saying, "want you back or something?"

Serah shook her head, "No, just wanted to check on me. Since I haven't been to my old school in like three days."

"Okay," Noel said kind of confused, " you wanna head inside?"

"Yeah, sure."

Noel and Serah walked inside the building, and up the stairs to the junior hallway. Serah had never been to Noel's locker, so when Noel signaled her to the right she easily found her place next to him. His locker was neat like hers, only it lacked pictures or her locker mirror. Besides that, it looked like an average locker.

"You need pictures." Serah said leaning against the locker to the left of his.

Noel chuckled, "Pictures of what?"

"Me."

Noel looked her dead in the eye, and smiled, "Okay, get me some pictures and i'll put them up."

Serah nodded happily, "Okay, I'll meet ya in Calculus. I gotta swing by my locker too."

"Kay."

Serah quickly walked down to her locker, where she saw Vanille and Fang talking together. Vanille noticed Serah approaching and gave a small wave, signalling Fang to stop talking about whatever they were discussing. Serah came up to her locker and started putting in the combination. She felt Vanille place her hand on Serah's shoulder, where a newly formed bruise was, causing Serah to wince in pain. Hopefully the two girls didn't notice.

"Serah, are you okay?" Vanille said quickly removing her hand from her shoulder.

Fang stepped closer, "Did anything happen?"

Serah shook her head, "No, not at all. Just a little sore."

"You sure?" Fang asked, clearing not believing Serah's lie.

"Positive, now if you will excuse me I've got to meet Noel at Calculus."

"You guys a thing now?" Vanille clasped her hands together.

"Um, actually we are."

"That's so cute and sweet."

"He's a good guy." Fang nodded as Vanille gushed about Noel and Serah.

Serah smiled "Thanks, I'll see you guys later."

With that she quickly walked towards the other end of the hallway, and down the stairs. Serah hurried to get away as quickly as she could without looking like she was trying to run away. That was too close; Fang and Vanille almost had her right there. _Did they know?_ Serah asked herself. She figured Fang probably knew from Lightning, but for Vanille she didn't know. Down the long tiled hallway she walked, until she came to the calculus classroom, where Noel was supposed to be. But all that was in there was Yeul, and Noel's stuff. She walked over to her desk and sat her stuff down, quickly glancing around the classroom. No Noel.

"Hi Serah," Yeul said still looking at her drawing, "looking for Noel?"

"Actually yes I am."

Yeul looked up, "He said he would be right back. I'm sure he's heading here right now."

Serah sighed and said okay, as she sat down in her seat. She wondered what the boy was up to, being himself and all. She hoped it wasn't anything to do with her and the truth. As soon as she thought that, Noel walked into the classroom and weird look on his face. He sat down next to Serah and took her hand.

"Are you okay?" Noel asked as he gave her hand a squeeze.

"Yeah, are you okay?"

Noel sighed, "As long as you're okay, then I'm fine."

Serah smiled as students started filing into the classroom. Even though there was more people coming in, Serah felt like she was the only one in there. She knew Noel knew something, but what it was, she didn't know.

The next two weeks were a blur to Serah; most of her days consisted of going to school, spending her days with Noel, getting smacked by her father, and then going to bed. She hadn't got the third strike though. Thomas had actually found a job so her was gone early in the morning to late at night. That definitely helped her mother, and partly her. It was Monday afternoon when Serah got home from school to find her mother crying in the bathroom. She quickly sat her backpack down and sat down close to her mother. Charlotte was hysterical, something must of happening with Serah's father.

"Mom? What's wrong?" Serah asked as her mother contained to cry into a towel.

Serah's eyes drifted to the trash can, where she noticed a box. It was a pregnancy test. She quickly got up and dumped the trash onto the floor, when she saw it. The tester, with a little pink plus on the side of it. Serah picked it up and showed Charlotte, who cringed and became more hysterical.

"Mom, what happened." Serah sternly said as her mother continued to cry.

"I-it was y-your father," she hiccuped, "he was m-mad one night and needed me."

"Mom!" Serah said standing up, "You're not his toy to use whenever he wants! You can't handle having another child to watch!"

"I know Serah!" Her mother screamed and threw the towel.

Serah quickly exited the bathroom before her mother started throwing other things. This was insanity, how could her mother be pregnant. If she didn't already have enough to deal with, now she definitely did. Serah needed to escape this place, so she left. She took the car keys and drove her mother's car to Noel's house. He said he had homework to do today at home, so she figured he'd be home. She pulled in and got out of the car; when the car first pulled in she saw a figure by the front door, and as she walked closer she saw the door swing open. It was Caius. He looked more casual this time, with a pair of jeans and a black v neck tshirt.

He gave her a smile, "Hello Serah. How can I help you?"

"Hi Caius," Serah uncomfortably shifted her weight, "I was just wondering if Noel was home."

"He stepped out for a moment, saying he was coming right back. He probably will be back shortly, please come in."

"You know, I can just wait in the car-" Serah began to say but Caius grabbed her hand.

"Please, I insist." She slowly walked into the house, as Caius released his grip on her hand. She walked over to the couch and took a seat, as Caius watched her do so. She felt very uncomfortable, and she knew something was going on. He walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge.

"You want anything to drink Serah?"

"No thank you." Serah quickly replied, as she saw Caius pull out a beer for himself.

She quietly prayed that Noel who hurry his ass up and get back home. Caius walked over and took a seat beside her, too close for comfort. He stretched and laid an arm behind her back, like a typical move a guy does when they want to put an arm around a girl.

"So Miss Farron," Caius started as he sipped on his beer, "why are you here?"

"Oh nothing really. Just needed some help on some Calculus homework." She quickly lied. Hopefully he'd believe her.

He sat the beer down on the glass table, "Is that so? Well I was once a student who took calculus maybe I could help you?"

Serah stared at the can, "Um, ya know, I'm just going to wait on Noel. I mean, he can't be gone that long."

Caius moved his other hand to rest on her bare thigh, "You sure? I'm sure I can be some assistance to you."

Serah was about to snap this guy, "Okay, it has to do with limits."

"Oh, my favorite." he growled into her ear, his other arm wrapping around her body and pulling her close. Serah was about to punch this guy in the face when he was suddenly on top of her. He pushed her shoulder down onto the couch, making sure she couldn't escape. Caius then began to slowly kiss her, which Serah didn't respond to at all, and she actually bit his lip. He recoiled but gave an evil smirk.

"You like to play rough." He slowly stroked her face as she tried to kick him, but he was so much bigger than she was that it was useless.

Serah then tried to scream, but a hand clamped down on her mouth. Caius glared above.

"You scream, and Yeul gets it."

Serah froze; she knew she couldn't let herself get raped by this douchebag, but then again she didn't want anything to happen to Yeul. She just wished Noel would hurry up and get back. Caius continued to kiss her and slowly began unbuttoning her dress shirt. Serah knew she had to do something, so she screamed again, but this time Caius slapped her hard across the face.

"That's it you little bitch, you're mine-"

"Caius!" A voice screamed, and Serah could hear footsteps down the stairs. Caius quickly got off of Serah just in time to block a punch across the face from Noel.

"Noel," Caius breathed heavily, "I can explain."

Noel looked from Caius to Serah, who was quickly buttoning her top, and then looked back to Caius, "You son of a bitch!"

Noel then attacked Caius, and the two were throwing punches left and right. Noel struck Caius right in the jaw, and then Caius hit Noel's left side. Serah quickly got up and started screaming at them to stop, which didn't do anything. Noel swung and hit Caius right in the nose, making it snap and start to bleed. Caius then fell backwards onto the floor, and laid there with his nose gushing blood.

Noel stood over Caius, "You touch her again, and your nose won't be the only thing I break."

He then turned and grabbed Serah's hand, pulling her outside and shutting the door behind him. Noel turned to her and took her face in his hands.

"Did he hurt you?"

Serah shook her head, "No, I don't think so."

Noel sighed and pulled Serah into a hug. Serah quickly wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close to her. She was so relieved that he had come and saved her.

"Hey Noel," Serah murmured into his chest, "can we go somewhere to talk."

"Yeah sure. Let's go."

It was three thirty went Serah and Noel got to the beach; it was a hot and sunny day, so the water was warm and clear. Serah and Noel both took off their shoes and sat them by Serah's car, then they ran across the hot sand to the water. Serah took Noel's hand as they walked down the long seashore.

"Whatcha want to talk about?" Noel asked giving Serah's hand a tight squeeze.

Serah sighed, "My mom's pregnant."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah," Serah said sadly, "it's great and all, but she doesn't need to have another kid besides me to take care of."

Noel released her hand, "Well it's not like you need taking care of, you're basically almost an adult."

"I know but still. With my dad losing his job, and now my mom being pregnant, it's just a lot." Serah said trying to avoid bringing the topic of her dad being an alcoholic.

"What does Lightning think?"  
"She doesn't know yet." was all Serah could say. Lightning would flip when she found out, especially the version that her mom gave. Serah took as deeper step out into the crystal water. "Ya know, sometimes I just wish I could go away."

"Just go away?"

"Yeah," Serah turned to her boyfriend, "like disappear. Go somewhere else."

Noel took a step out and grabbed her hands, "What about us." Serah sighed and started to turn away, but Noel held her in place. He stared deep into her eyes, "Does _this_ mean nothing to you?"

Serah sharply turned back to face him, "Of course it does! This means everything to me! Like I said before, you're the only thing that's right in my life right now. Everything else doesn't matter."

Noel moved closer to her, "Than wherever you go, I'll be there too."

Serah sighed as her and Noel kissed once more, with the warm ocean beneath their feet. Instantly everything seemed to not seem like a big deal anymore. The pregnancy, her father, telling Lightning, it all seemed to slip away. She knew this feeling all too well; it was one of the bad things about kissing Noel, not that there were many, everytime she kissed him everything seemed to fade away. It was a quick escape for the moment, but as soon as their lips didn't touch all the thoughts came rushing back to reality. Serah wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, and he wrapped his around her waist. If she only knew what would happen next, she should have stayed with him forever.


End file.
